IOC: 1983
Total Production: 2,050
Total Program's Cost: USD$80 billion
F/A-18A Hornet
Unitary Cost: USD$29 million
Also Known As:
CF-18A (Canadian Air Force version), EF-18A (Spanish Air Force version)
Origin:United States of America
Contractor/s:
Boeing
Description:
The twin-engine, carrier-based, supersonic F/A-18 Hornet was designed to meet the US Navy requirements for an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft. This aircraft is able to perform an air strike mission deep inside enemy territory providing itself self-defense capability even beyond the visual range. It is also able to perform close air support missions. In its fighter role, the F/A-18 Hornet supplements the proven F-14 Tomcat in fleet air defense missions.
The Hornet was deployed in early 1980s replacing the F-4 Phantom II and A-7 Corsair II, and the A-6E Intruder in the 1990s. The F/A-18 demonstrated its capabilities during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, shooting down enemy aircraft and performing precision air strikes in the same mission with unprecedented tactical aircraft levels of reliability, availability and maintainability. The US Navy and the USMC F/A-18 played an important role in the military campaigns over the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq in late 1990s and early 2000s.
The Hornet multi-role aircraft is in service with the USMC, the US Navy, and the Air Forces of Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain and Switzerland. More than 1,000 F/A-18 Hornets from the A, B, C and D models have been produced to date.
The F/A-18A is a single-seat aircraft capable of both air defense and day, night, all-weather attack missions. It achieved operational capability in 1983 becoming one of the most valuable aircraft in service with the US Navy and the USMC as well as allied nations. In 1986 the F/A-18A Hornet was employed for the first time in an air strike against Libya. The AAR-50 and the NITE Hawk pods located nearby the aircraft intakes enables the F/A-18 Hornet all-weather navigation and guided precision weapons delivery.
Early in August 2005, the US Navy released that the F/A-18 airframe including the Hornet and Super Hornet operated by the United States and allied countries had logged six million flight hours.
In early November 2006 Boeing was awarded a $450+ million five-year contract to produce spare parts such as flight control surfaces for the F/A-18A/B/C/D fleet owned by the United States and allied nations worldwide. The contract also included the production and delivery of 23 wings worth $59.5 million. Spare parts deliveries are expected to begin in late 2006 and continue through 2013.
Specifications Accommodation: Crew 1
Guns: Main Gun Caliber 20 mm
Dimensions: Height 4.7 m, Length 17 m, Wingspan 12.3 m
Weights: Max Weight 21,890 kg (48,258 lb)
Engine/s Performance: Thrust 32,000 lb (14,515 kg)
Performance: Ceiling 15,250 m (50,033 ft), Max Range 2,554 km (1,379 nm), Top Speed 597 mps (Mach 1.80)
Australia
Canada
Spain
United States of America